Apple App Store Downloads to Grow 61 Percent, Analyst Says

Purchases from Apple's App Store are expected to grow 61 percent this year as more and more consumers look for a rewarding app store experience when buying a new device, according to a Monday report.

The average iOS device user will download 83 apps in 2011, up 61 percent from 51 in 2010, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster wrote in a note to investors.

"We believe this trend points to the increasing importance of an app store with a broad selection of tested apps to drive device sales," Munster wrote. "Smartphone users are showing an increasing appetite to use apps to add features to their phones, and iOS has the leading app ecosystem."

Those downloads will also include paid apps; app purchases are expected to jump 14 percent this year after an 18 percent drop in 2010. "After the initial race to the bottom in App Store pricing, we are seeing users pay up to add features and games to their iOS devices," Munster wrote.

According to Piper Jaffray analysis, about 82 percent of App Store apps are free and 18 percent are paid, with an average selling price of $1.44.

"The App Store ... brings new features to Apple's iOS devices and creates a virtuous cycle driving sales of iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches," Munster concluded.

Last week, Apple announced that its App Store had topped the 15 billion download mark. At this point, there are 425,000 apps in the App Store, and 100,000 native iPad apps, available in 90 countries.

Also last week, research firm In-Stat offered some long-term outlook on tablet applications with a forecast for five-year growth of total worldwide tablet app downloads from under 1 billion in 2011 to more than 11 billion in 2015.

The content of Apple's App Store might be helping it attract buyers, but what about the name? Apple is currently battling Amazon and Microsoft for the exclusive right to use "app store." Amazon and Microsoft argue that the term is generic, but Apple said it holds the rights and efforts like Amazon's AppStore hurt its brand. So far, Apple is not having too much luck; a judge recently denied Apple's request for an injunction against Amazon. But that hasn't stopped Apple from taking that battle to smaller companies.

Skype coming to the iPad soon

After plenty of success with the iPhone version of the Skype app, the company is finally releasing an official version for the iPad. Skype hasn't announced a date for release yet, but video of the app has leaked out online, and the app is expected to be approved soon. Skype VP of Consumer and Product Design Rick Osterloh had a talk with TUAW about the new app and what Skype expects to get out of it.
Osterloh says that the iPhone version of Skype burst out of the gate quickly, with a big launch and "a userbase that doubled in just a month's time." And he said the iPad version should "have a similar success," especially since it's basically the same in functionality: chatting, audio and video calling, and all of the other standard actions you can expect from Skype. The current app has been in testing for a few months now, and Osterloh is excited to unleash it on the public.
A few features in the full PC/Mac app didn't make it in, Osterloh says, perhaps most notably the ability to do file sharing. But that's obviously just because of the way the iPad deals with files. While the company was fine with simply having an iPhone app that was iPad compatible during the first release of the iPad, the camera in the iPad 2 was what made this app "super compelling."

Skype for iPad shouldn't be too surprising a release -- ever since the iPad got a camera on it, it was likely that we'd see some version built especially for the bigger tablet. But according to Osteroh, it's a solid release for the company, and yet another step out onto mobile devices for one of the premiere communication networks online. I'll let you know as soon as we see the app live in the App Store -- it shouldn't be too long.

Facebook to Launch iPad App, Preparing Web-Based Mobile Platform

The New York Times reports that Facebook is finally set to release a free iPad app "in coming weeks", remedying a curious omission for the social networking service that touts over 600 million users worldwide.

"People briefed on Facebook's plans say that in coming weeks the company plans to introduce a free iPad application that has been carefully designed and optimized for the tablet. 

The app has been in production at Facebook for almost a year, going through several design iterations, and is now in the final stages of testing, according to these people, who declined to be named because they were discussing confidential product plans.

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who along with other company executives noted last November that the company was still been trying to decide how best to handle the iPad, is said to have been "heavily involved" in the app's development. 

"People who have seen the application said it has a slick design that has been tailored for the iPad and its touchscreen interface. Facebook developers and designers have also overhauled the Facebook Chat and Facebook Groups features for the application. And the app will go beyond the features available on the Facebook Web site by allowing users to shoot and upload photos and videos directly from the iPads built-in cameras.

Facebook's iPad app comes just as TechCrunch reports that the company is preparing to launch a new HTML5-based mobile platform codenamed "Project Spartan" that would take on iOS on its home turf by running within the mobile Safari browser.

'As of right now, there are believed to be 80 or so outside developers working with Facebook on Project Spartan. These teams are working on apps for the platform that range from games to news-reading apps. Some of the names should be familiar: Zynga and Huffington Post (owned by our parent AOL), for example. The goal is to have these apps ready to roll in the next few weeks for a formal unveiling shortly thereafter.

Facebook's vision for Project Spartan reportedly includes integration of its Facebook Credits payment system that would allow developers to offer paid apps and in app purchases directly through the web-based platform. 

Instagram : more than 5 million users and 100 million image

As we all know Instagram app is one of the top images sharing and adding effects. This app also have a lot of iPhone users, the have reached 100,000,000 user in the latest statistics of the service.
More than 890 thousand, and it just increased to reach 100,000,000 image. It's really a huge success for this service, because the low number of the people who works on it and develop it ( only 4 people are working on it ), but still it's the best uploading app I've ever used.
I think the number of this service will keep increasing in a huge amount if it was available for Android phone. What do you think ?

Expedite Social Networking With MySocialMania

MySocialMania ($0.99) by Steven J. Wilson is a social networking app that allows you to post on multiple sites simultaneously. Designed for an avid social networker, this app has the potential to dramatically decrease the amount of time it takes to post pictures and messages.

The app saves account information for thirteen of the top social networking sites; including Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube, Blogger, Tumblr, and WordPress. Facebook and Twitter also have the option of saving multiple accounts’ information.

The app is very simple and straightforward. There are four tabs, home, settings, logs, and more info. From the home screen, users can post messages, blogs, photos, or videos. Just tap on the respective arrow, create the post, and select the sites to share the post on. It’s as easy as 1-2-3. Accounts are setup through the settings tab and developer information is in the more information tab. The logs tab keeps track of posts made from the app in chronological order, so users can see when and where they made their last posts.

If you network online often, MySocialMania may be the app for you. It makes it easy to post on multiple sites at one time, eliminating the need to individually log in through websites and apps to post the same message on different sites.

Overall, MySocialMania is a useful tool for social networkers. With simple and useful controls, it is a nifty productivity app. If you find yourself wasting time reposting messages on multiple sites, check out MySocialMania.

Here's some screenshots :

App of the week: The Los Angeles Times App For iPad

Los Angeles Times app for iPad (Free) by Tribune Interactive is the official app of The Los Angeles Times. The Southern California based newspaper organization has developed an iPad-only news app that compiles news articles, photos and video from their website. You don’t have to be from Los Angeles to enjoy this app. There is plenty of Hollywood gossip, national news and world events packed into it.

This is not a subscription-based app that requires you to pay $1.99 per month or already have a subscription to the daily newspaper. However, you do have to register your name and email address in order to use it. Like some other news apps, like The Associated Press or USA Today, the articles are refreshed regularly and can be read offline once they have been downloaded.

The greater Los Angeles area is home to some of the most interesting news stories in the country. Not only does Hollywood, with all of its colorful residents, fall within the LA borders, but it is also home to the Lakers, the Dodgers, Venice Beach and Universal Studios. With so much going on in the county, you can imagine how riveting their news can be.

Having grown up in Southern California, reading articles from this news app brings back a lot of childhood memories. I remember spending the day at the Santa Monica Pier, or driving into LA for a burger from Original Tommy’s. Reading up on what is happening in those areas is like walking down memory lane.

How to : restore deleted photos from iOS devices

A lot of people are looking for a way to restore their deleted photos from iPhone, iPad or even Mac computers. Now it's easy and possible to do it using a software called Picturescue, and really easy to restore deleted photos by mistake, just setup the software on your computer and then choose the device you want to restore photos from, if it's an iPad, iPod or an iPhone it doesn't really matter, because the software works on all these devices. After you choose your device, the software is going to show you the all ready saved backup files, and it's also going to show you the date on the files. When you see the files you will be able to restore any photos from it. The only problem is that you need to buy it and it cost $4.99, because if are using the free version you will only be able to browse the backup file and you won't be able to restore it, so you should buy the it.
The software is now available only for Mac users, and there isn't any available version for PC users yet. You can download it and see some videos on the official website from here .

Here's a screenshot :

App of the week : Weber’s On the Grill

If you love to grill or barbecue, you are going to love this app! Weber’s On the Grill™ features 280 classic Weber recipes plus 40 recipes for rubs, marinades, and sauces that are sure to get you fired up to get out and grill. You can tag your favorites, and even create and share a master grocery list for your grilling recipes that you can take with you to the store. There’s a timer within the app, too, so you know exactly when to take your food off the grill.

WHAT’S INCLUDED

SEARCH AND BROWSE over 300 triple-tested, classic recipes from Weber’s best-selling cookbooks, from starters to desserts, including rubs, marinades, and sauces. Recipes are from Weber's Art of the Grill™, Weber's Big Book of Grilling™, Weber's Charcoal Grilling™, and Weber's Real Grilling™.

STORE ingredients from any recipe in an itemized grocery list. To make shopping easy, the ingredients are organized by category to facilitate shopping. You can add as many recipes to the grocery list as you want, and the app will combine all the ingredients you will need at the store. A simple check box lets you mark off items as you shop.

SHARE recipes and grocery lists with friends and family via email.

REFERENCE 100+ tips for expert grilling.

LEARN essential grilling techniques for taking your skills to the next level.

WATCH short instructional grilling videos by celebrity chef and cookbook author Jamie Purviance. TAG your favorite recipes and techniques for future reference.